“ON THE ROAD” WITH KEITH MOTT
Dean Garrett of Feltham
First and foremost Dean Garrett is a family man and with only limited spare time his pigeon racing is very much in second place these days. The 2016 racing season has seen him do well with his young birds racing in the very strong Spelthorne club and the Three Borders Federation. The Spelthorne club were runner up for the ‘Federation Points Trophy’ with 161 points in 2016 and had three 1st Federation winners. Dean won 1st club Yeovil, 10th, 93rd open BICC Falaise, 42nd, 66th open BICC Alencon with old birds and his youngsters were ‘on fire’ winning, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th, 7th club, 6th, 7th, 10th, 20th, 21st, 22nd Federation Blandford (1,110 birds), 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th, 5th, 6th club, 6th, 8th, 9th, 10th, 11, 12th Yeovil Federation (878 birds), 1st, 2nd club, 10th, 11th Federation Exeter (651 birds), plus some premier positions in National race. In the 2016 BICC young bird Guernsey race, there was a four day hold over and Dean clocked four birds in 5 seconds to win: 45th, 46th, 47th, 50th, and 63rd open. When I spoke to Dean recently he told me, ‘a short while ago I brought in some birds from a superb pigeon flyer in Ireland named, Phillip Boal, and he races in the best competition of the Dromore club. Phillip has won the mighty NIPA several times and I would like to thank him for supplying me with these wonderful Willy Van Herks pigeons. I also bought in nine direct from Willy Van Herks and I’m now looking forward to getting back into middle distance racing, where my heart is. I recently joined the Spelthorne club and the members, who are all very dedicated pigeon racers, welcomed me with open arms. Thanks also Carol Francis, who does a great job at the club and as secretary of the British International Championship Club’. Dean is very keen on the BICC and had two very good young bird races in 2015 with them recording: 14th, 30th, 40th open Guernsey (1),
15th, 18th, 28th, 29th, 42nd open Guernsey (2).
A few seasons ago Dean told me that he and his partner, Cheryl, were expecting their first baby and this wonderful event would mean he would have to cut back on his pigeon racing hobby for a couple of years, but he was quite happy about that. Dean also mentioned at that time that his step daughter, Chloe, was his ‘side kick’ with the training of the birds and she enjoyed the involvement. Dean has enjoyed another brilliant racing season that year, winning with old birds: 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th Federation Wincanton, 4th Federation Kingsdown, 5th, 8th Federation Kingsdown, 4th, 23rd Federation Yelverton, 8th, 9th Federation Wincanton, 8th Federation Wincanton, 28th Combine Falaise, 8th, 9th Federation Kingsdown, 4th, 5th Federation Wincanton, 2nd Federation, 6th Combine Le Mans, 8th Federation, 8th, 12th Combine Exeter, 2nd, 8th Federation Exeter and the young birds were on fire winning: 1st Federation Kingsdown (by 5 minutes), 13th, 14th, 15th Federation Exeter, 7th, 12th Federation Exeter, 9th Federation Wincanton, 5th, 6th open L&SECC Guernsey (1) and top open positions in the NFC Carentan race. Absolutely brilliant pigeon racing!
That season saw Dean send only between four and ten widowhood cocks most weeks and these were never trained during the season, only exercised around the loft twice a day. He started the season with 35 young birds, which were put on the darkness system and trained twice a day weather permitting. He is up and out training at 04.00hrs and maintains you can’t give young birds to much training! Dean is a great fan of Versele Laga corn and all the birds were fed on it in that season. The star of the Tidbury & Garrett loft that season was a young Lambrect red cock, which recorded a staggering: 1st Federation Kingsdown, 5th open L&SECC Guernsey and 132nd open NFC Carentan (provisional). The great young cock was sent racing sitting eggs and was bred from a pair of stock birds that had bred three 1st Federation winners. Another great success story in the that season was Dean’s fantastic yearling De Meyer mealy cock, ‘Dean’s Dream’, who won the Federation as a young bird and has then recorded 1st, 2nd, 4th, 8th, 8th, 9th, 22nd and 23rd Federation being raced on the widowhood system. As Dean said at that time, ‘absolute class’.
The L&SECC sent 2,450 birds to Guernsey in the August 2009 for the first young bird and old hens classics, and being liberated in a strong tail wind the member had a ‘banger’ of a race, with the winners recording over 1800 ypm. It was very refreshing to see one of our young fanciers win the race and was particularly nice that Dean Garrett of Feltham took the top honour, as was a very good pigeon racer and loved the sport. This up and coming ‘ace’ won the young bird classic with his Soontjen / Janssen blue chequer hen, ‘Bill’s Dream’, which was named after his late grand father, Bill Tidbury, who was his pigeon partner for several seasons. This game hen won the classic, racing celibate to a nest pan and previously won 9th Federation Guernsey when the Tidbury & Garrett loft won the first eight positions in the club. Dean told me at the time the parents of ‘Bill’s Dream’ cost him £90, being purchased from sales at the BHW Blackpool Show and her dam, called ‘The £30 Hen’, was bred by Mr. & Mrs. Arrowsmith. When the L&SECC secretary phoned him to inform him he had won the race he was over joyed and just looked up to the sky and thanked his late grand father for his help! Dean enjoyed a brilliant 2009 young bird racing season winning a long list of premier position, including several firsts in his club, 1st Federation and 1st open L&SECC Guernsey.
Dean was born in Feltham, Middlesex (same as me) in 1981 and his late grand father, Bill Tidbury, was a pigeon fancier, starting up when he left the armed forces. Bill fort in Burmah, finally being taken prisoner of war and Dean says he was his best friend as well as my grand dad and still misses him very much. When Dean was a youngster he was a keen boxer, walking in the foot steps of his grand father and his cousin, Eric Boon, who were both good sports men in the boxing ring. Eric was famous for knocking out Arthur Danaher in the 15th round of their bout and had many top encounters all over the UK. Dean started racing pigeons in partnership with Bill in 1995 and he trained the youngsters, single up, from Cranford Park on his grand dad’s old GPO ‘postman’ bike. Dean was only 14 years of age and says he loved taking those north road babies for those short tosses on that bike, which paid off as they won several good positions in the club. In the early days the partners had some good success with their mixture of gift pigeons, which were mainly from George Oliver and he raced Cattrysse, Kirkpatrick and Fear Brothers pigeons. When Bill passed away in 2000, Dean got rid of every thing, loft, clock, pigeons, the lot and hit the night club scene, and enjoyed the normal teenager pursuits of drinking and woman. After he had got that out of his system, he rejoined the sport in 2004 with several gift late breds from Allen and Janina Jenkins. Dean told me the Jenkins’ gave him a lot of help in the early days and these two wonderful people now live on the Isle of Barrow, off the coast of Scotland, but still in his thoughts. His first real season back was in 2005, when won several good prizes with young birds and was always at sales looking for good stock birds, which were mainly Janssen. He went to a sale at the ‘Lion Brewery’ PH in Ash and purchased two pairs of Eddie Wright / Janssens very cheaply, and they produced his good cock called, ‘99’, which won several premier positions including 1st club, 2nd Federation, 2nd Combine Fougeres. Another good pigeon was the Marcelis red cock, which was purchased for £11 from Mr. Davenport and he won Dean’s first race for him, recording 1st club, 3rd Federation, 26th Combine St. Nazaire. Some outstanding pigeons have been obtained from several local fanciers including, Rod Berry, Clive Yates and the L&SECC winning partnership of Jenkyn, Barrott & Rolfe. His club was the Bedfont SR Club and told me it was a great club, welcoming him with lots of help and a gift pigeon clock. Dean tells me the best local fancier is the great Jack Newell of Feltham, who is a legend, winning every thing in his life time in the sport, including 1st open NCF Pau.
The main families now raced are Cooremans, Lambrects and De Meyers obtained from Jason Hulse and Kevin Head. Dean’s loft set up is a 21ft race loft with an 18 widowhood cock section and two hens sections, plus two 12ft lofts, one for his young birds and the other which contains 16 nest boxes for the stock birds. He thinks the main things needed in a loft is good ventilation, good light and above all must be dry. Dean loves young bird racing and breeds a good strong team of 60 babies every season to compete well in both Federation and Classic racing. The Tidbury & Garrett young birds are put on the ‘darkness’ system and Dean is a firm believer that young pigeons need to be trained, and he gives them a 32 mile tosses twice a day once they start to race. He maintains to be successful with the babies they have to be trained, trained and trained again, and fed correctly for the weather conditions and wind direction the next weekend. He lets the youngsters do as they want and has won with them pairing up, sitting eggs and even feeding a youngster, but maintain the only way to be successful in the National and Classic races is to be on the ‘darkness’ system. Premier young bird racers for the Tidbury & Garrett loft in recent seasons are: ‘Dean’s Dream’, bred by Kevin Head and winner of 1st club, 1st Federation Kingsdown, 8th Federation Wincanton: ‘Cheryl’ winner of 1st club, 5th Federation Yelverton: ‘Big Man’, Dean favourite youngster and winner of 1st club, 2nd Federation Wincanton, 16th Federation Kingsdown: ‘Bill’s Dream’ winner of 1st SW section, 1st open London & South East Classic Club Guernsey, 9th Federation Guernsey.
Dean races his old birds on the widowhood system, which suits his work as a brick layer and slabber, but he thinks the system of only racing cocks is a waist of good racing hens. He pairs up in early January and the racers rear a youngster before being separated for the widowhood and are later repaired for the training period, which is about six short tosses. The widowers are not trained during the racing season, but are exercised around the loft for an hour twice every day and the cocks are required to race the programme. The loft has won many premier positions in the first six in the club and Federation through the years and Dean prefers sprint / middle distance racing up to 400 miles, but in the future hopes to have a go at some long distance events. Recent racing seasons competing in the Federation have been very successful winning, 2006: twice 1st club, 2007: four times 1st club, 2008: nine times 1st club, fourteen times 2nd club. His ambition, after wining several seconds and thirds in recent seasons, was to win the Federation and he finally achieved it in the 2009 season from Kingsdown, with his game mealy cock, ‘Dean’s Dream’. He was delighted to win the Federation, having won 2nd Federation on the two weekends before, then came out and won 1st open L&SECC the week after. Great pigeon racing!
He tells me he has no idea about the ‘eye sign’ method, but likes to see a nice bright eye on a pigeon and he thinks the eye tells the whole story, with the bird’s general condition being seen in the eye. Dean says the local fancier who is setting them alight in the premier races this season is Mark Gilbert, who has had brilliant success. He maintains the moult is a very important time of the year and says a bad moult this year will almost certainly mean bad race results next season. In October the birds should enjoy some good relaxation and be given plenty of seed, oils and regular baths. He is not a fan of late bred youngsters for stock of racing, but lets the widowhood cock breed a round of youngsters at the end of the season, which he gives away to his friends.
There you have it, the brilliant success story of Dean Garrett of Feltham!
Betty and I would like say a Merry Christmas to all our many friends in the world of pigeon racing and showing.
Have a great time!
TEXT & PHOTOS BY KEITH MOTT
(www.keithmott.com)
